In recent years wrist watches have come to be recognized more as articles of jewelry than as time-pieces. People at all economic levels own wrist watches of original artistic designs which often contain precious metal or precious stones. Frequently a wrist watch is the only piece of jewelry which a man will wear, and often is the subject of great pride of the owner.
Many people engage in activities where damage to a wrist watch may occur. Carpenters, plumbers, painters, iron workers, welders, and others working in a building trade constantly expose their wrist watches to abrasion and blows. Construction and factory workers may also be exposed to acid, alkali or other chemicals which can damage the metal finish or etch away the glass or plastic crystal. Fumes or excess moisture can easily penetrate the watch casing and corrode or otherwise deleteriously effect the inner working of the watch. Even people who do not have physically active jobs frequently expose their watches to damage when working around the house. The risks of damage to expensive watches are well known, and many attempts have been made in the past to protect watches from these damages. In general, wrist watch protectors have fallen into two types; a first variety of cuff-type wraparound protector which simply fits over the watch on the wrist, and a second tube-type protector into which the watch is placed, with the whole assembly placed on the wrist. Representative of the first variety are the wraparound devices of Williams, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,249,550, Dressen, U.S. 2,344,136 and Karpf, U.S. 1,857,195. These devices are generally slip-on covers which seal the watch against intrusions of water and dirt. Hucknall, U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,270 shows a combination of a wrap around elastic bracelet with a hard plastic shield through which the face of the watch can be seen. Holder, U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,089 also discloses a wraparound bracelet having a transparent face through which the watch can be seen; the bracelet itself is somewhat decorative as well as protective.
Protective devices which completely enclose the watch may cover the total of the watch or only a portion thereof. For example, Schreiber, U.S. Pat. No. 1,767,315 discloses a protective cover which buckles around the face of the watch leaving the strap intact. A device which encloses the face and a portion of the band is shown in Vedder, U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,830. Tubular devices where the watch is completely enclosed in the protective cover prior to placing on the wrist of the wearer are shown in Bradbury, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,076,221 and Friedman, U.S. 2,227,131. Another type of protector is shown in Cornett, U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,695 which discloses a wide band which is placed on the wrist of the wearer before the watch is put in place. After placing the watch on his wrist, the wearer then rolls side flaps which exist on the band over the top of the watch, attaching the flaps together with snaps and forming a protective cover.
Still other protective coverings have required removal of the watch band components from the wrist watch and placing the remaining watch body in a special carrier which can be carried in the user's pocket. For example, Fenyvessy, U.S. Pat. No. 2,511,105 discloses a stitched leather protective pouch which may be inserted or pinned to the pocket of the user. Parris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,117 shows a similar device in which the watch is suspended by a quick release strap.
While each of the described devices of the prior art serves the purpose for which it was intended, none of the watch protectors provides a multipurpose protector which can be used either with an existing watchband or in place of an existing watch band. It is an object of the invention to provide such a protector and to provide a protector which can be easily and quickly put into place; and which is adjustable in size for all users and for all different size watches. It is a further object of the invention to provide a watch protector which is easily and inexpensively manufactured but which is attractive and easily decorated.